Mysteries: Great pretender

Aspiring models need not starve themselves after all, as one Swiss prankster has proved. Described as a mysterious, dark, handsome gent in his late 20s, this man tricked one of Switzerland's biggest media companies into publishing a two-page spread of himself in an ad for the fashion house Gucci. He booked an expensive colour spread in a weekly newspaper, SonntagsZeitung, made his own ad and sent it in, according to the Associated Press.

The ad ran, and when the paper billed Gucci for $50,000, the fashion house complained that it had no idea who this man was. A spokesman for the paper, Chris Zimmer, said: "We've spoken to Gucci and apologised for the mistake. We're going to try to get the money back from this guy, but we don't rate our chances."

It's not the only time the mysterious conman has tried something like this. He once pretended he was the Puerto Rican singer Chayanne and tried to book concert venues in his name, until a tip-off from the record company spoilt his scheme.